Georgia-Pacific begins final phase on OSB plant

By

Georgia-Pacific has announced it is in the final construction phase of a nearly complete oriented strand board (OSB) facility in Clarendon, S.C. The mill was part of the acquisition last May from Grant Forest Products that also included an operating plant at Allendale, S.C., and another operating plant at Englehart, Ontario. The acquisition totaled approximately $400 million.

"We expect it will take most of this year to complete construction on the plant," said Mark Luetters, president, Georgia-Pacific wood products. "We are currently planning to start the plant in December 2011. Having now operated an identical plant at Allendale, we believe we will be able to quickly and efficiently begin producing OSB."

Luetters said Georgia-Pacific will spend an additional $30 million to complete the facility. The amount includes a construction crew of more than 100 people, plus the purchase and installation of the remaining equipment and infrastructure. Once completed, both Clarendon and Allendale will supply markets across the eastern United States with OSB products.

Applications for about 150 permanent positions, including management, craft and production roles at the Clarendon facility, will be accepted through the company's website at gp.com/careers beginning April 11.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is a leading manufacturer of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related chemicals. The company employs more than 40,000 people at more than 300 locations in North America, South America and Europe.